Thank You
by QuantumKakarotto
Summary: Today a Legend has left the world, and our wall-crawling hero goes to pay his respects to his hero who inspired him to be who he was. Tribute to Stan "The Man" Lee, for everything he's done to entertain us as we grew up with his creations and may he rest in peace.


Spider-Man was late, that wasn't a surprise when it came to him. He was away on superhero business when he heard the news that broke and did his best to quickly arrest the criminals and leave them for the boys in blue.

He gripped his web-line as he swung throughout the quiet city with grace as he continued toward his destination. No one was disrupting him today, not today of all days. They all knew this day would come, but Spidey was the one who might have taken it the hardest compared to the other heroes who were going through the same loss.

Soon Spidey jumped over the tall gated fence and landed softly onto the grass field below. He stood tall as his masked face looked around what seemed like an endless field of tombstones before he found the one he was looking for and began to walk forward towards it.

As he made his way through, he passed by the gravestones of those close to him, but none of those mattered right now.

Not even his Uncle Ben's grave was on his mind right now.

Right now, his mind was only on one, the one who inspired to begin in the first place. The one who taught him something after his very first outing as Spider-Man…

 **(August 1962)**

" _My fault…all my fault!" Peter Parker cried as he walked through the dark streets of New York, dressed in his Spider-Man stage costume. Tonight had been the worst day in his life, his Uncle…his poor Uncle Ben was murdered after a break-in at his home and the killer was…him. The guy who Peter let go as all because he didn't see the need to get involved in stopping a robbery after his performance on the Ed Sullivan show. He remembered a cop berating him for not stopping him for even only a minute, and how he only replied. "Sorry, pal! That's your job! I'm thru being pushed around by anyone! From now on I just look out for one, that means me!"_

" _If only I had stopped him when I could have!" Peter sobbed as the face of the murderer kept flashing in his mind with the image of Uncle Ben being killed. "But I didn't…and now….Uncle Ben…Is dead…"_

" _And now you know what you have to do." A voice suddenly spoke, breaking Peter's thoughts as he turned sharply and came face to face with a man wearing stunner sunglasses with a black frame and brown lens, his hair was dark but also looked had gray in it. The man gave him a friendly smile that a caring father would give a son. "You know what you have to do now right?"_

" _Wh-what do you mean?" Peter asked, his voice still breaking softly from the emotional pain he still felt in his heart. He didn't know why but this man…a man Peter was just meeting right now, felt as if Peter knew him his whole life. "What am I supposed to do?"_

" _You got to make your Uncle proud kid. You've got to remember his teachings in life and be the best person He and I know you can be." The man said walking closer to Peter before placing a caring hand on his shoulder. "You have these amazing gifts Peter, and it's up to you to use these gifts any way you see fit. But just remember these powers are great, but you must have a great responsibility in order to reach your full potential."_

 _Peter stared at the man with a look of awe on his face. He was right, Peter did need to use his new gifts for something more than just showboating and looking out for himself. He had to use these gifts to make sure other people didn't have to go through what he was now._

 _He looked back up at the man and asked. "Who are you?"_

 _The man only smiled and answered. "A true believer in Spider-Man." He patted Peter on the back. "Now get going web-head. Go be spectacular."_

 _Peter nodded and found himself walking through the dark streets of New York. The man watched as the lean silent figure of Peter Parker slowly faded into the gathering darkness, knowing that the kid was aware that at last that in this world, "With Great Power There Must Also Come Great Responsibility."_

 _The man smiled and whispered. "Excelsior."_

 **(Present Day)**

A now unmasked Spider-Man stood in front of the grave he had come to see. The dirt was fresh as someone was recently buried six feet underneath. The adult face of Peter Parker smiled sadly as he held his Spider-Man mask in his hands.

"You were right," Peter spoke as he stared at the name on the grave. "You were right about it all, it's because of you that I am who I am today and that even through my dark moments I'll be who I have to be in order to be a hero."

He laid a gentle hand on the gravestone and whispered. "With great power comes great responsibility. I learned that from my uncle and from you. And even though you're gone now, you'll always be with me throughout my adventures."

It was then sirens could be heard in the distance. Peter slipped his mask back on and took a moment to look at the gravestone again. "Rest well, and I hope you and Uncle Ben are trading stories up there. And I promise you, I'll have some amazing stories when I see you again."

With that, Spidey jumped into the air and fired a web-line off to do what he did best and continue to be the best he could be.

 _Nuff said._

 **R.I.P. STAN LEE**

 **1922-2018**


End file.
